The differences among the world’s various religions are getting a lot more ink these days than the similarities. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge stories of common ground. “The Life of Pi,” in which an Indian boy finds magic in three different faiths with the help of a Bengal Tiger...Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
A restaurant wasn't always a place to eat. It used to be a thing to eat - a cup of medicinal broth to restore your health. These days Americans eat almost half their meals out, so how did the modern restaurant evolve? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the rise of the restaurant. ...Read more
Every day you pick up the paper and there's another report about something you either should be eating or shouldn't. Omega 3-fatty acids, soy milk, broccoli - good. Trans fats, soda, fast food - bad. What if instead we just ate what made us happy? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more
Did you ever notice your dog gets depressed when you do? That your cat seems to make you feel more relaxed? Every wonder why? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the connection between people and animals. Primatologist Frans de Waal says it may not be opera and abstract art, but...Read more
Scientists tell us optimistic people are happier, healthier and even live longer than pessimists. But it's hard to maintain an optimistic frame of mind in the face of daily reports of war, famine, disease and injustice. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, evidence that the world is...Read more
Future Perfect: Dreamers, Schemers & Visionaries
Part One
Imagine a poor child in Uruguay. Now imagine giving that young girl a hundred-dollar laptop computer. Imagine the educational opportunities that this laptop will provide...Read more
When and how did the universe begin? Why is there something rather than nothing? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll tackle the big questions about the universe. From Stephen Hawking's latest ideas about parallel universes and theories of everything to the quantum physics of...Read more
We may think it’s pretty clear what is – and isn’t – science, but history is littered with cases where the line wasn’t so obvious. For instance, Isaac Newton studied alchemy, and Galileo was a practicing astrologer. This hour explores the edges of science, and we hear about the...Read more
Sometimes, a single word speaks volumes about its era. Sputnik conjures up both the heady excitement of the early Space Race and the whole scary history of the Cold War. In this hour, To the Best of Our Knowledge touches on a few of these cultural touchstones....from Sputnik to Snoopy. We'll...Read more
America's gone craft crazy. Everyone's knitting, or keeping scrapbooks; throwing pots or wood-working. And naturally, there are new chains of stores that carry all the supplies these crafters need, or think they do. To the Best of Our Knowledge considers what we mean by the word "craft." Does it...Read more
What's the best piece of reporting you read or saw or heard this year? Today, we share stories that made us see the world in a new way. National Book Award winner Katherine Boo reports from the slums of Mumbai. Photojournalist Brendan Bannon documents the tenacity and vitality of Africa. ...Read more
Every new year brings a fresh start, another chance to remake yourself. We all aspire to be better people, but following through on our goals can often be difficult.Read more
From Soup to Nuts
Part Five
Whether black from a bottomless cup or as a Frappuccino mocha skim latte, it's our culture's elixir: coffee. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Java, Joe or a cup of mud . . . Most of us drink it...Read more
What’s the biggest threat to American supremacy? Islamic fundamentalism? China? How about Europe? Today Europe has more people, more trade, and more wealth than the U.S. And the European welfare state offers a potent alternative to American capitalism - and what government’s supposed to do...Read more
What do you do if you're a struggling artist in search of recognition? Well, if you're Lynn Hershman Leeson, you write reviews of your work under pseudonyms and get them published in local newspapers. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll find out how Hershman Leeson uses her art...Read more
They’re the bad boys of the numerical system. You never know when one is going to crop up, or why. Mathematicians have agonized over their mysteries for years, some predicting a mystical order where only chaos appears. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the world of prime numbers...Read more
Are you deadline driven? Most focused, most productive as “zero hour” approaches? Well, what about the ultimate end, the true end of the time frame.
Deadline, indeed.
How does knowing that you’re going to die affect your life? In this hour we’re minding mortality.Read more
American flags are everywhere. U.S. soldiers are once again heroes. And some people say it’s downright unpatriotic to criticize the president or the war against terrorism. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the new meaning of patriotism and the crackdown on dissent....Read more
Welcome to the digital age. There’s information everywhere but do we know any more than we did twenty years ago? And for all that info... where's knowledge?Read more
Dreams can be a pleasant diversion from the daily grind or something with the potential to transform, entertain, and even heal. On this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the power of dreams and the science of sleep.Read more
Peggy Orenstein didn't want children. At least she didn't think so. Children killed careers and turned smart, professional women into drones. Well, that's what Orenstein was afraid of, anyway. But after a death in the family, she changed her mind. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, to...Read more
Dan Janzen is one of the world’s leading tropical biologists. He’s spent forty years working in the Cost Rican jungle, and there’s one creature that fascinates him above all others - the moth. Janzen has found nine-thousand different species of moth in Cost Rica. In this hour of To the Best...Read more
In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, choosing the life you want. Colette’s biographer talks about how the great French writer stayed saucy and sexually active into old age. Kay Redfield Jamison takes a look at the end of life - a view of the suicide epidemic. And...Read more